lunhs cancer

There is a constant clock ticking in my mind. Tick...tick...tick.... "Living on borrowed time...." I've passed my expiration date. Tick...tick...tick.... The thing that scares me most, that threatens to tear me away from my family lives inside my body. Tick...tick...tick.... One day my luck's gonna run out. Tick...tick...tick.... Ya know what sucks? Having your future torn away from you when you were just digging into your career. When things were looking so bright. Awards rolling in, people taking notice. When you have a house full of small children counting on you. (They're still counting on me.) So what do you do? You dust yourself off, take stock of what you still CAN do, where you still CAN play an important role, what dreams you STILL dare to dream. My cancer is well controlled right now. Right now I have time. Tick...tick...tick... Right now I have time to plan for my family's future. To get things in place to take care of them when I'm gone. (D...

In the months following my diagnosis with metastatic lung cancer, I felt so desperately lost and alone. I didn't know a single person with this type of cancer, let alone another young mom. As the fog of shock and denial gradually lifted, I ventured into the online waters of cancer groups in an attempt to find others in this same boat. First, I came across a number of blogs written by other young people with lung cancer, and I hung on every written word. Many of those same people have become dear friends to me now, and heartbreakingly some have been taken by this disease. If you are newly diagnosed or looking to connect with other lung cancer folks, here are a few groups and organizations that have been very helpful to me in my journey, offering emotional support, companionship, up-to-date research information, and even suggestions for treatments to discuss with my doctor. LUNGevity LUNGevity is the largest lung cancer non-profit, and has funded over 100 research studies. They also ...

An interview with Mark Maynard, in which I discuss beer, cancer, Yes And, life choices, improv, and facing challenges head on. Pointless Brewery & Theatre to explore the intersection of brewing and improv

We got some nice press coverage for our dream project, Pointless Brewery & Theatre . Don't let stage IV lung cancer keep you down! Couple opening Pointless Brewery & Theatre in Ann Arbor Want to join our Pointless endeavor? Pledge to our Kickstarter and enjoy lots of Pointless perks!

I did it! I turned 39!! That may not sound like much of an accomplishment, but the horrible statistics that come with a metastatic lung cancer diagnosis had us all believing that even making it to 38 would be a stretch. So how does one celebrate such a milestone? For me, with a lot of reflection. I've been given the gift of time, and while my SuperDrug is doing a bang-up job controlling my cancer right now, I know my future is uncertain. Over the past few months, our lung cancer community has endured some incredibly heavy losses. Sadly, losing friends is nothing new to me anymore, but this recent string of deaths hit me particularly hard because several of them were people that I was sure would be the one to beat the odds. Young, previously in great health, with so much to offer the world, and yet cancer stole them away so quickly. Sobering thoughts. I have a lung cancer friend who always tells me that he looks forward to seeing me dance at my children's weddings. And every ti...

Here it is, folks! As I wrote in " A Pointless Story ", Jason and I have been hard at work getting things in place to open our dream business, Pointless Brewery & Theatre. (Which, as far as I know, is the ONLY such combo in existence. If you know of others, please let me know, I would love to meet the owners!) And now is your chance to come on board and help get this up on its feet. Watch the video, check out the cool perks, and join us! AND - all donations of $75 or more get a one-year Pointless Peeps membership, which gives you 10% off of all show tickets, drinks, snacks, and merchandise. Plus a cool t-shirt. Pretty sweet, huh? Click on the logo below to watch:

My amazing little girls just turned four, and I was thrilled to share this milestone with them. There was a time not long ago when I doubted I would see this day. When I was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer in the spring of 2013, my son was 4 and my twin girls were newly 2. My daughters were still sleeping in cribs, still and diapers, still my little babies. That summer my worldview shifted dramatically, and my view of my children growing up followed suit. Now, I no longer mourn the passing days of their childhood. Like many parents, I used to have a twinge of sadness when the little ones passed milestones, knowing that they were one day closer to growing up and leaving home. Now, instead of sadness I feel a twinge of relief and a boatload of joy, for each one is another moment that I am still here to experience. It is as if the faster they grow, the more of their lives I will get to see. As if they could only grow fast enough, they might outpace my cancer. I was still here to see...

I have metastatic lung cancer. Conventional wisdom says that once cancer has spread beyond the original site, cure is impossible and the purpose of treatment is to reduce symptoms and extend the patient's life. Surgery is off the table. Except. Except what if the cancer has only just started to spread? What if it has only set up a few metastases (called oligometastatic disease)? Could you push the envelope and try the impossible, to cure stage 4 lung cancer? A group of patients believed that this idea was worth fighting for. It started with lung cancer patient Chris Newman's participation in an online patient forum, Inspire.com, where she learned about quite a few stage 4 patients with a small number of metastases who had undergone surgery or SBRT (Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy, a kind of radiation that pinpoints small tumors). These patients had enjoyed No Evidence of Disease for years. They were lucky to have been treated at top medical institutions by doctors who were...